Dog Guru
Dog psychologist Amrut Sridhara Hiranya fell in love with dogs soon after he started selling them for pocket money through a breeder he knew when he was at Bishop Cotton’s Boys School back in ’98. As a teenager, he kept a stray dog in his balcony for three weeks without his mum’s consent. “She got so upset, I left my house and spent a night at a nearby park. Later, we gave it to People For Animals,” he recalls. Hiranya now owns a company called Dog Guru, a name he is also known by, given to him by a city-based news channel. “They created a show similar to the Dog Whisperer hosted by Cesar Millan,” he tells us about the series that started in January, 2012.

The Process
Hiranya’s style is unique. Unlike Vishwanath, Hiranya trains newbies with the help of his pack of dogs. A method similar to that of Dog Whisperer Millan, he uses calm, assertive energy and teaches dog owners to establish their role as pack leaders. He introduces the trainee dog to his English mastiff Shiney, who in turn, places the trainee correctly in the pack hierarchy. “This method is unlike reward-based training, where the behaviour of the dog is directly related to the treat,” he says. Apart from things like obedience, behaviour and owner training, Hiranya also does dog therapy and trains pets for security and narcotics and explosive detection.

Rs. 15,000 per month with food and accommodation.